BHUBANESWAR:WITH the first phase of Paree Express journey coming to an end on Tuesday, Odisha Police wish to continue the programme and plan to roll out the second phase of ‘Paree Pain Katha Tiye’ campaign against child sexual abuse soon.
“The campaign was a huge success across the State. Awareness on child sexual abuse was generated among the people, and we do not want to end the programme abruptly. We have planned to launch the second phase of Paree campaign across the State by August,” DGP Dr RP Sharma told The Express.
The plan is to run the second phase for a longer duration so as to reach out to all remote areas, said the DGP. “Odisha Police and our collaborative partner UNICEF will form an action plan for conducting the second phase of Paree campaign. School and college authorities along with students will be part of the second phase. They will not only generate awareness on child sexual abuse in educational institutes but also educate their neighbourhood,” Dr Sharma said. Anganwadi workers will also be engaged in this phase, he added.
Odisha Police said they have a two-fold objective behind the campaign - to reduce incidents of child sexual abuse and encourage citizens to report such incidents at police stations. The senior cops asserted that the campaign would further educate field-level police officers during the second phase including, registering child sexual abuse cases, conducting proper investigation and filing charge sheets within a stipulated time period and focusing on increasing the conviction rate.
About 15 Paree Express vans with LCD screens covered at least 40,000 kms across the State in 15 days and organised about 1,400 community meetings. Over 12 lakh people participated in the community meetings while another 12 lakh saw the campaign on social media, said police sources.According to police, in the last three years, about 1,200 cases of sexual abuse against minor girls were reported on an average every year. Similarly, over 2,100 rape cases were reported on an average every year during the last three years.The first phase 15-day campaign had commenced on May 28 and concluded on June 12.
